Fantastic
by Kat A. Klysmic
Summary: This is just a quick oneshot i did on a whim. Rose muses over her life with the doctor, and the doctor himself, when she suddenly hears a beautiful, yet haunting, melody from somehwere within the TARDIS. What will she find at it's source? Rated K


Authors Note: Just a quick fic I wrote on a whim tonight. K+ Rating. It's my first Doctor Who fic, and a oneshot, but I've been a long time fan ever since season one in 2005. This fic is with Rose and the 9th Doctor. It's not at any particular point in the timeline, so place it wherever you please, though it'd probably be later on. Anyhoo, Enjoy and please review!

**Fantastic**

Time always passed strangely in the TARDIS, Rose Tyler had long since given up on trying to keep track of the days and nights as they passed. She slept when she was tired and explored new worlds with the Doctor when she wasn't. It was a life that many of her fellow species might call strange and frightening, but it was hers, and she loved every minute of it.

It wasn't all just the aliens, or the strange and wonderful new planets; it was the Doctor and the way of life he had shown her. A better, more fantastic way of living than she could have ever imagined while still on earth. Her mother didn't understand, neither did Mickey, and he'd even traveled with them. She didn't blame them though, nor did she expect them to understand her life, or the man she shared it with.

Rose smiled secretly to herself, elbows propped up on the counter she was leaning on, rear perched on a stool and a steaming cup of tea cradled in her hands. It was late (or so she suspected), but she was having trouble sleeping, so, wrapped up in her robe and jim jams, feet clad in fluffy slippers, Rose had meandered through the winding corridors of the TARDIS and eventually found herself in the kitchen. One cup of hot tea later, Rose had settled back onto the stool for her second as she let her mind wander. It came, as usual, around to the Doctor.

The Doctor...how could a human with a limited English vocabulary even begin to describe someone so...so..._fantastic_? Rose couldn't help but giggle a little to herself. Fantastic, now there was a word often on the Doctor's lips. He so often used it on other things, funny how when it came down to it, that was the only way Rose Tyler was able to describe _him._

Just thinking about the tall, gangly alien man made the young woman smile both inside and out. They'd had their hard times, but the good ones made it all worth while. He had his dark side too, both fierce and sad in turns. His fierce protection of her every time they stepped into danger (which was at least three times a week lately.) both frightened and thrilled her, sending shivers up her spine. His blue gray eyes would blaze and he'd take her firmly by the hand, their digits interlocking as though they'd been made to do so, like two pieces of a puzzle. When they held hands, Rose always felt so safe, the impenetrable barrier that was the Doctor seemed to wrap around her like a force field, shielding her from the entire universe and all it's harms...And yet, there was that sad, faraway look he would get every time he thought he was alone. It held so much pain that it made her want to run to him and wrap him up in the tightest embrace she could manage and tell him everything would be alright, _she_ was there now, he'd never be alone again.

And then there was his cheerful, lively side. That absolutely mad grin he had that seemed to send out shock waves of excitement, affecting everyone in the room. Something exciting, and quite possibly deadly, always happened when he used that flashing grin, it always made her laugh and dive in headfirst right along with him into whatever kind of mad plan he had conceived...There was another kind of smile though, that smaller, more contained, almost secretive little smile he sometimes used when he thought she wasn't looking, and sometimes when he knew she was. This always evoked a different kind of emotion in her, a more loving one. Love for a friend, for a traveling companion, for the man who had so firmly captured her heart ever since that first day she'd met him, though she hadn't realized it at the time. The day he'd taken her by the hand, that mad grin on his face and simply said "Run".

Every time she thought back on that day, she always wondered what could have possibly made her go along with him so willingly, he was a stranger, completely and utterly unknown to her, and still she had gone. Despite how odd it always seemed, she had never once regretted it.

Rose was gradually lifted from her revelry over her now cold cup of tea on the gentle waves of a subtle melody. She hadn't even noticed the music at first, but now that she had, it captured her attention utterly. It seemed just out of hearing so she strained to hear it, made her want to find the source so that she could hear more of the haunting melody.

The young woman slid off her stool and headed for the door of the kitchen, tea sitting forgotten on the counter as she left the room for the winding corridors of the time ship. Rose wandered ceaselessly, always following the music which gradually became more and more audible, though it was never enough for her. She just had to hear more, hear it more clearly, find whatever, or whomever could be making such lovely, heart wrenching music.

At long last Rose came to the end of an unfamiliar corridor, and found herself standing before a closed door, the music emanating from behind it. She pressed an ear to it, as though to make sure, though she already knew the answer. This was the Doctor's room. She had never been there before, nor to this part of the TARDIS, but somehow she just got that feeling. Perhaps it was the ship itself telling her this through it's telepathic link into her brain. Rose hadn't realized the doctor had his own room, but she supposed it was silly of her to think that he didn't. She had just never seen him sleep before, he always seemed to be awake, there and waiting for her to come to him after sleeping herself. After traveling with him so long, she supposed she had just come to the idea that he never slept. Perhaps this was true, or maybe he just slept very little...

Rose shook herself from her wandering thoughts and hesitantly reached out a hand and placed it on the door knob. She waited a moment, and then slowly turned the door knob and opened he door just a crack and peeked in.

What she saw surprised her, though she supposed it shouldn't have. The doctor was sitting on the far side of a large fourposter bed, his back to her. His leather jacket had been discarded and he sat there in a green jumper and black pants, focusing on whatever instrument he was playing, she couldn't quite see it.

Intrigued, Rose crouched and slowly pushed the door open just wide enough to admit her and entered silently, made quieter by her slippers. She paused, the Doctor didn't seem to notice her, and so she continued in and stopped behind a chair and settled on the floor behind it to listen. She couldn't help but peek around it's edge on occasion to catch a glimpse of his back, tense with concentration as he played. She rested her chin on her knees and closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. It was like no song she had ever heard before. It was certainly not played on any earth instrument, as it almost sounded like there were two wind instruments in one. It was so beautiful, and yet so sad, the human woman found she had no words to describe it. The sweeping melody caught her up in it like a small boat on the immense, rolling waves of the ocean. For just a moment, the music connected and she felt as though she were part of something bigger. Bigger than her, bigger than the doctor, bigger than the universe itself. It was as though she were caught up in the flow of time itself, forever flowing smoothly on like an unending river that wound through and about the entirety of creation.

Rose hadn't noticed that her eyes had closed at some point, nor that her cheeks were now wet with tears. She took her a moment to even realize that the music had stopped, for it still resonated within her heart and a beautiful, painful way. Eventually she opened her eyes and nearly fell over backwards when her gaze was met with eyes the color of a stormy sea.

"D-Doctor!" Rose stammered, trying to collect herself and come up with some sort of logical explanation as to what she was doing in his private rooms listening in on what was probably a very intimate music session. "I...ah..."

"I'm sorry." came the Doctor's low voice unexpectedly. His thick, inexplicably northern, accent rumbled up from his chest, reaching her ears like a music of it's own. Rose looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"I said, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" he asked as he crouched there before her, large hands hanging limply between his knees as he looked at her with those bottomless stormy eyes set above his large nose. Most people made fun of it and his ears, but she had grown to love them as much as the rest of him, and had even come to find them charming over time.

"Ah, no. I was having trouble sleeping." she finally managed to say after a moment's staring wordlessly at him.

"Oh..." was all he said and looked away, shifting uncomfortably. Rose almost started to regret having come, she had clearly intruded on something.

"I'm sorry...for intruding." She said, making him look back at her.

"Oh no, it's nothin'." the Doctor said, waving it off nonchalantly, putting on a smile for her sake. It was the kind of smile she like least on the Doctor. It was the one he used when he was trying to cover something up to keep her safe, locking away his heart.

Rose couldn't let that happen, wouldn't, not again. There had been such pain, such loneliness in that song. She reached out and suddenly slipped her hand in his, making him look up in surprise, fake smile gone, to her relief. She looked at him, meeting his blue eyes with her brown ones, trying to convey her feelings to him in a single look. She didn't want him to feel alone, she was there for him, _wanted_ to be with him.

The Doctor looked back at her with somber eyes. She was lovely, she truly was. There she was, sitting in front of him with tears on her cheeks and in her lovely brown eyes, face framed by soft blond hair, looking at him so earnestly. Crying. Crying for _him_. Of all the people in the universe she could shed her tears for, she shed them for him, the most unworthy of them all.

The Doctor wavered on his feet, and then sat back on the hard wood floor, his hand tightly clasping hers.

Rose was taken by surprise as the Doctor suddenly sat back, almost as though exhausted. Something had changed about him though, almost as though he wasn't running away any more. Rose Tyler moved forward and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, sitting on her knees before him, pulling him into a loving embrace. The Doctor was still for a moment, but then wrapped his arms tightly about her small frame and held her close, as though afraid to let go.

"Doctor...I'm here for you." Rose whispered in his ear as she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, loving the feel of his arms around her. She breathed in the scent of him, warm leather jacket and a slight hint of aftershave. It was so familiar, and she loved it, loved him.

The Doctor was silent for a time, relishing her warmth against him, and the warmth of her love, something she offered him, and he gratefully accepted. He buried his face in her long blond hair. It smelled of lavender, no doubt the shampoo she used. His two hearts sped up a little as she spoke, and he tightened his grip on her as though afraid someone might steal her away from him. She had become a constant in his life, something, rather someone, he'd grown to need to have around, if only for her warm heart and willingness to accept him, no matter what he had done in the past.

"Thank you, Rose."

Thanks for reading! Please review! Reviews really make my day!


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